Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-02-16
WHOLE NO. Il,lSO.

only this. but suppose thst in This litrla citv n
| sacramento, where there are two theaters: surl
| pose that the management of the two theaters
| i sno,,la set toEether and soy we want To form
I combination; we desire to fix the rates of
| entrance ices; we desire TO fx the rates for
| which we shall rent our theater. l. apyhodv
mere Willing to say they have not the perfect
| iight TO 90 IT? l am very confident that The
Senator troia San Francisco, who is The rep,lted
| owner OF one of these theaters Would not entar
lnto such an inholy alliance: / ask. Mr. Presi.
GeEs, whether he would DO such atfing as that
WIZ THE SENATOR EEsPossD TO NY QUESTION.
| Senator rClunie-Aftera while.
WISon-WelI, stT, understand that there ia
l. not ONLY union, Aut there is a pool existing,
betweeSa ihesetwo theater managers The in,
saIi'sSe soililact is n no manner pool. Each
7 compapy stands upOS Its own basis in this com
pact anss sgreement Zach company transacts
rs own ESSlness. pays its own sDsSes and re-
eelfes @ S us 2Ssn earnings There is 10 pooling at
AL IN 1t Gass is matts5 which otGht To he dis.
tGctly understood. But say that suppose a
Dlu shouid ne introduced in this Legislature
proHldlng tlsss men in otl'fT business. not only
insurance corporations trades unions ETC.
should not eUmbine for 5ae fixing of rates
as sney beliets in their experience they
oughtto 90? say, sir, it is bad principle il
Is principle believe, in violation of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of
the United States. which provides that every
man snail 1 enjoy she equal protection of the
laws. What wou.A the peopbe of this State
think if they knew that the champion of this
compact 5ill was
HINSIHF a MENBRs OF A PooS5NG COMPACT
Fixing the rates of the tbeater-~oing public? I
am thoroughly impressed With the words of
Bobby BuIE,s:
40, wad some power the giftie gle us.
To secoursels as Shers see us
IL wadfrae monte bluuder fee us
And foolish notion
1t seems to me that this Senate bill 50 is a fair
exponent of what some man tipscrib, 4 the la T,
a -r,f1f ne. ..sfs ~
smiles in your face while it picks your pocket''
That is true; this bill smiles in your face while
ter. II IS something that win effect
| in event of great conaagration
which is likely to occur within week OF with
i'll year, every person holding n policy of in
surance i'll this State. / certainly hope and be
leve that the arguments are SO strong against
this bill tina, those VINO are here open to arg1l-
ment, who are not here prejEdiced in favor Of
this bill, that there are men upon this floor who
see that 1t VIII be disastrous to the
best interests of the State Now. Mr..
President, hold in my hand a
statement made in the city OF san Francisco
of 1850 cases, taking in all classes of business
and in this LOO rates less 400 have been in
creased. / viii read them to You, and, as the
Senators said, figures don't lie. Take the house
lSS Sutter street. TIE present rate is I.75. The
old rate was 2.25. Take the Blsh-street The
ater building. The present rate is $50; the old
storage the present rate is $50; the old rate was
| > 25, an increase Of lbs, which gave an equal
iZation of the risk and that is the point would
| try TO impress upon the Senators.
| | want to show the Senators that the insurance
| risks upon some classes OF goods are greater
| than they are upon Others and it is Iighl that
| the risks upon some eases should be raised, and
| lowered in others. The VIM. Tell Hotel is the
| same under the present IS it was under the old
| arrangement | might run through this list of
| l,550 rates of San Francisco and give the names
| of the people etc. and out of the $50
| rates in san Francisco less than 100 have been
| increased. The rest have been reduced under
| the compact system
believe sir that have talked as long as I
| ought TO upon this question. The Senators upon
the other side say We have no argument TO sun
| port our position. say that all the argument
is upon this side. know Senator C3unie wants
! to make en- explanation. hope 1t VIII be salts
| factory. but fear not.
| lat this point senator Wilson gave way. and
| after hearing the remarks Of Senator C,lnlie he
| continued as follows
| want to say in answer to Senator Clunie and
| his remark that was in favor of a corporation
| for the purpose of fixing high rates desire to
say that this is not 50. l do not believe that any
| organization of the people should exist for the
| purpose offixing high rates That would not be
| in the interest of the people but | do saw
| this to be the whole tenor of my ar
gument as to this point, there ought
| to be, and there must be compacts among peo-
| pie for the purpose OF equalizing rates; in max
| ing rates higher upon important and dangerous
| risks, and making that lower where they ought
| TO be lower, and say that, standing upon that
| platform. this compact has done that thing 1t
| where they ought to be raised. but
in a great majority of instances
it has lowered them. The Senator says
took the ground that the dissolution of
| this compact would drive the foreign CORPORA
tons from the ate. want 1t distinctly under
| stood that don't think any such thing, and I
| didn't say any such thing. | say, ON the con
| trary, it would create an open-rate war; that
| the foreign companies are strong,
and the home companies are weak.
| that the foreign companies can stay here five or
| q cen b11f that
| the home companies could not stand il because
| they are weak. / undertake to say without fear
| of contradiction that this is the reason
| that the hone onpanies want this compact,
| for the purpose OF fixing equitable rates. An
other point that the Senator made, that the in
| terests of the fire insurance companies were not
| the inter SITS of the fire insurance company
/ would be pre-eminently the interest of the pe0-
| pie. | suppose they had II compact for fixing
| equalizing rates at time of the Chicago fire. IL
| is well known that in that fire there were IS
! companies completely sent TO the wall, if may
| use tnat expression. Sixty-eight companies
| representing millions and millions Of dollars
| II didn't affect the Senator from san Francisco,
| but possibly he may have been insured in one
| or the other of those companies, but it
! affected every person whose building was
| burned every cent of money which was
| wound up i'll insurance was absolutely lost
| because at that time there was not that
proper combination of experience among
| insurance companies to have had the
| rates fixed in such way so that the insurance
| companies Were absolutely solvent and make
| the point that you cannot tell what day, you
| cannot tell whit minute of the day there may
be another larger confingration that may be in
| the city of Sacramento may be in the
| city of Stockton or the great fire of 1856
may be repeated in San Francisco and you can
not tell what minute the people of this State
wnom we all represent, and for whom we all
| spcak-you cannot tell what minute these peo-
| pie viii be yitaily interested il the absolute
| solveney of the insurance companies Of the
| State Sir, | leave this subject to the sound
| Judgment and to the honest discretion Of The
Senators upon this floor